House of Cards – Episode 303 – Production Stills 02Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright in Season 3 of Netflix’s “House of Cards.” Photo credit: David Giesbrecht for Netfli

“House of Cards” season 3 on Netflix is a crazy Washington political drama, a tale of a greedy, duplicitous– even murderous couple, with a kernel of truth hidden somewhere in the wild fiction. The show’s depiction of legislative, executive and judicial functions is unrealistic. It’s also crazy-addictive.

Political junkies can love the vision of Washington and the press in “House of Cards,” at the same time that we hate the liberties taken with the truth. Season 3 of the Netflix original went off the rails in ways the first two seasons didn’t, while still holding a mirror to American politics and blind ambition.

Speaking of that recurring motif… “I don’t recognize myself when I look in the mirror,” First Lady Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) said. Scene after scene positioned mirrors in view, whether bedroom looking glasses, truck rear-view mirrors or reflections in bowls or vases. We get it. But what crazy funhouse mirrors. Let’s take the wildest plot lines first:

1. Inviting a novelist into the inner sanctum of their lives, Claire and Frank (Kevin Spacey) unburden themselves, reveal secrets about their marriage and even flirt with the young man, who is of course sleeping with the journalist most critical of the Underwood Administration. This subplot was an overwritten mess.

2. The pleasure of admiring Spacey’s voice and the way Wright carries off couture does not a satisfying series make. How many scenes seemed to exist only to showcase these assets?

3. Reality should have intruded at least in regard to the nomination of the First Lady to be ambassador to the United Nations. Word is, that sort of nepotism would be illegal.

4. Bringing Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) around from presumed dead at the end of season 2, to suicidally depressed alcoholic, and back to chief of staff was a stretch. The only thing that might have made the character less credible is if he and Rachel Posner (Rachel Brosnan) had ridden off into the sunset together. Read more…

Comments Off on “House of Cards” s3 — some truth amid the crazy fiction

No spoilers, but don’t expect an upbeat turn for the dark Washington political drama “House of Cards” when it launches season 3 all at once, Feb. 27 on Netflix.

The scheming Frank Underwood, beautifully played by Kevin Spacey, is no kinder. His equally manipulative wife Claire, brought to life by Robin Wright, is no gentler. And the political climate, now that they inhabit the White House, is only more contentious. Heavy lies the head that wears the crown. So pour another bourbon.

Don’t think for a moment that the Underwood Administration will be content to fill-in until the next election. Living at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. isn’t enough; being a one-term appointed, not elected, President can’t be enough, either. This pair will always want more. And fans will eat up every unrealistic turn, enjoying the sparring, the asides to the camera and the sheer audacity of the characters.

Reality intrudes only metaphorically: a Putin-like Russian, late-night calls to campaign donors, media pundits offering analysis and the opposing party putting up roadblocks. Sure it’s sudsy drama. But great characters make for great fun in season 3.

First, credit Netflix for changing the way we view a serial, streaming 13 episodes over a holiday weekend. Binge-watching is the new normal. Proper TV etiquette now requires you to ask how many episodes your friends have seen before launching into a critique.

Overall, the rise of the Underwoods to Congressional power was more intriguingly played than their clawing their way to the White House.

That said, give director David Fincher credit for keeping the political thriller taut, even upping the tension by killing off a key character early, and going deeper into Claire’s (Robin Wright) history in season 2. Kevin Spacey remains a delightful Southern-accented villain as Frank Underwood; Wright is less a caricature at times as Claire. The pair are masterful as contemporary Macbeths, all blind ambition, practicing the art of war along with kinky personal lives. They are in the business of “ruthless pragmatism, just shy of treason, which is politics.” Best summary line of the season.

The Zoe Barnes twist was brilliant. A bold surprise. The Edward Meechum twist, not so credible. It felt like a writer’s trick, bending the rule-abiding Secret Service character in order to toy with Frank’s already established bisexuality.

The sideshows this season were less successful than in the first. Gerald McRaney is a fine actor, but the premise of his character Raymond Tusk’s role — best friend to the easily manipulated president, billionaire donor to the GOP, puppet-master influencing trade with China and favors to Congressmen — lacked subtlety. Are even the Koch brothers that wired in? And wasn’t Tusk’s bird-in-the-hand moment almost more gruesome than the human murders depicted previously?

The most tedious aspect of season 2 was the continuing Doug Stamper (Michael Kelly) storyline. Frank’s loyal henchman has pledged to do whatever it takes to keep Rachel Posner quiet about the Russo affair. Unfortunately, Doug’s addictions have now bled into an obsession with Rachel.

The lobbyist-Congresswoman bed-hopping was more credible than the newspaper-FBI-rogue internet hacker story, or at least it played out more convincingly.

In all, a fun and suspenseful ride that won’t be remembered as a great drama.

You’ll need a recap. When “House of Cards” season 2 is unleashed on Netflix Feb. 14, a Valentines’ treat to rival chocolate, viewers will be dropped into the fast-paced drama without catch-up narration or scene-setting introduction. It may be the first time the audience will long for a “last season on “House of Cards”” voice-over to ease re-entry.

The corrupt politics of D.C. continue, the machinations of Francis Underwood (beautifully played by Kevin Spacey) and his wife Claire (ditto Robin Wright) have only gotten meaner. The deceit and backstabbing is, incredibly, turned up a notch. The increasing scrutiny that comes with their rise to power threatens their schemes. Presidential friend, confidante and billionaire backer Raymond Tusk (Gerald McRaney) is an ever greater obstacle to Francis. And reporter and former paramour Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara) is getting closer to exposing his criminal past.

The Emmy-winning series, the first streamed original from Netflix, will be met with high expectations. One of those expectations is that we will be able to follow the story without a study guide. Unfortunately, it will take preparation and review in order to jump back into the narrative. As serious dramas become more challenging and more literate, maybe that is to be expected. Director David Fincher (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Social Network”), playwright and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Beau Willimon (“Farragut North,” “The Ides of March”) and Oscar winner Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump,” “Munich,” “The Insider”), have high expectations of the audience. This is not just a fun escape, it’s a clever puzzle.

Joanne Ostrow has been watching TV since before "reality" required quotation marks. "Hill Street Blues" was life-changing. If Dickens, Twain or Agatha Christie were alive today, they'd be writing for television. And proud of it.